No Time to Mourn
by Crimson-Butterfly89
Summary: Robert Kendo is just trying to save his daughter Emma, even if deep down he knows she is already dead... based on my favourite cutscene from RE2 remake and one of the saddest, most touching moments in the franchise. One shot.


No Time to Mourn

Robert Kendo looked at his daughter and sighed. She was turning pale and beginning to shake, her skin cold and clammy. Her eyes were bloodshot and red, her lips were turning blue. He sat in a chair beside the sofa where she lay, listening to her rasping, wheezy breaths.

_Fuck. This is not good._

"Daddy, has it s-s-stopped raining y-yet?" she stammered.

_What the fuck am I gonna do?_

_"_No, sweetheart, it's still raining, stay in here where it's nice and warm. Daddy will take care of you."

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck_.

He stroked his daughter's hair and kissed her gently on the forehead, he pulled the blanket up to her chin and sat up off the bench. His office was always on the small side, even when it wasn't a god damned mess, but right now it felt claustrophobic.

_I need to get out of here, need to go and DO SOMETHING for Christ sakes, maybe if I take her to the hospital, there might be WHO doctors or the FBI or somebody who knows what the fuck is going on?_

He rushed across the room and opened the drawer, flipping through the Racoon City A-Z roadmaps for Raccoon General Hospital. It was all the way downtown, over 10 miles away, and a lot of the roads were blocked.

_Can't go in the truck, I'd need to carry her… but who's to say I could carry her that far, or that I would have enough ammo to fend off those things._

The shop had already been ransacked by the time he got there, the security alarms went off at stupid o clock in the morning and he hadn't been able to get back home since. The road was under construction so the only way out is through the back alley, but Emma got bitten on the way here and they only just made it then. There's probably even more of them now, and they've got a taste for blood…

She coughed and wheezed some more; a trickle of blood escaped her mouth and dribbled down her chin onto her neck.

_I gotta get her something for the pain at least. Maybe I could find a drug store that hasn't been raided?_

Suddenly there was a noise coming from the front of the store. Sounded like someone was messing with the lock. He loaded his trusty M3 and counted the shells – only 4 left. He slowly opened the office door and crept behind the counter, waiting with bated breath for an opening.

"What a mess, place is trashed."

_Human, female, not alone._

"Let's look for a way out the back."

_Male, young, probably a couple._

He waited until the male footsteps approached and he pumped his Remington 870, pointing it at the male's temple.

_This ought to scare the shit out of him._

"Freeze!"

The male was early 20's and wearing an RPD uniform, but he didn't recognise him. He's either a new recruit, or he's an impostor. Whoever he is he hasn't been trained at the range yet. Marvin mentioned hiring a new guy last time I visited. The rookie dropped his stance and raised his hands obediently. The female was a little older than the kid, way more experienced from the way she held her weapon. She kept her sights deadlocked unlike the rookie, and was covered up under a trench coat, scarf and sunglasses. She's no ordinary civi, she must have training.

"Take it easy, we're not gonna hurt you" the male spoke calmly.

_He's never had a gun in his face before, definitely rattled, but he's doing well not to show it. The woman doesn't seem bothered in the slightest. All this chaos and violence and she's more worried about her designer sunglasses. What's she really after here?_

"Get the hell outta my store before I blow you both away."

There was a sound from the back office. If they find Emma they might panic, and he just wanted them gone with no fuss. Luckily, they didn't mention it. The rookie was the first to drop his guard.

"Look, I'm a cop, we can help you if you come with us"

From the look she gave him, the woman didn't like that idea – there is no way I'm leaving Emma anyway.

"Not a chance." Kendo tightened his grip on the Remington.

There was a look between them – something exchanged that Robert didn't catch, but perhaps it was sympathy for a desperate and defeated man. He decided to lower his stance a touch. Somehow it seemed they were on his side. If they were going to rush him, they would have done it by now. He lowered the shotgun.

There was a raspy breath coming from behind him. He knew Emma has come out of the office to see what was going on.

"Your daughter needs help, sir." The rookie stated.

The woman raised her 9mm at Emma, and immediately Robert moved to block her line of sight, raising his weapon again.

_No, you don't not my baby I'd rather die than let you hurt her._

The cop looked horrified for a moment, before realisation of why Robert was so defensive. He loosened up a little, but the woman was cool and calculating as ever.

"Step aside, we need to execute her before she turns." The woman instructed.

The cop lowered his weapon and he gestured to the woman to do the same – she hesitated but eventually dropped her guard.

"Terminate…That's my _fucking_ daughter". Robert was genuinely offended by the remark, but he wouldn't say it out loud.

"Mo…mmy?" Emma wheezed. Now that her eyes were open, he could see that one of them was white with cataracts, the other red and bloody.

"Mommy..."

He thought for a moment about whether to remind her of the awful loss she had just witnessed only a few hours ago. He stopped himself – it was better she didn't remember, no need to put her in more pain than she is already in.

"Mommy is sleeping sweetheart, and I'm gonna put you to bed too, okay?"

She had stopped shaking but had a vacant expression on her face. She looked like she was sleepwalking after the nightmare from hell, so tired and weary, yet she was obviously in far more pain than her body was physically able to express. He thought about how many times he had seen her smile over the last 9 years and the joy in her eyes when they used to play in the park, cuddle up in bed with Lucy and the puppy, or hug her friends at school.

_There's nothing I can do that will bring that joy back in her eyes, I'll never see her smile again. The woman is right, all I can do is end her pain. I can't just sit here and watch her suffer. I'm her father and it's my job to protect her. I failed to prevent this, so this is my punishment. I'll have to live with this for the rest of my life – however long that is._

"Ada, just let them be." The cop pleaded with the woman – 'Ada'.

"Emma, sweetheart I thought I told you to stay put." Robert still had the shotgun trained on the woman.

"Da…ddy?" Emma rasped.

He decided to lower his guard and tend to his daughter. She was all he had left. He knelt down and hugged his daughter with one arm, the Remington still primed and ready to go in the other.

"It's ok Emmie, Daddy's here." He locked eyes with the rookie. "Those fuckin' things outside, look what they did to us." Rage starting to build in his whole body. "You're a cop, you're supposed to KNOW something…how did this happen? Huh?!"

'Ada' just stared guiltily at him, but he thought he saw the cops lip quiver slightly. No answer came from either.

_Well, at least one of you gives a damn._

Emma moaned hoarsely as she slumped over his shoulder. He stood up and turned to them both.

"Just go. Just give us some privacy."

He slammed the door with the butt of the Remington while he fought back tears. He gently laid her back down on the sofa. Robert kissed his daughter on the forehead one last time and tucked the blanket under her chin again.

"Get some sleep Princess, Mommy will be here when you wake up."

Emma closed her eyes and let out a raspy sigh, almost as if she knew what came next and welcomed it with relief. The shot rang loud and echoed in his head far longer than it lasted in the air. He pulled the blanket over the remains of his daughter's face and let the shotgun clutter to the floor. He sat in the corner of the room and sobbed quietly, the tears stinging his eyes as they formed. If Ada and the cop were still there, he couldn't hear them over the ringing of the shot in his ears. He didn't care anymore.

Time passed – how much he didn't know. It all felt like a blur to him then. Before long, a loud banging sound from the front of the store brought him back to reality. Shortly followed by another, rhythmically repeating slams against the glass.

_It's time, my fate has arrived. My punishment for my failures – my atonement for my sins. I have committed the ultimate sin and now death has come for me._

Several loud moans came through the glass, there was more than a few now – far too many to fight off with 3 shells. He peeked his head slowly out of the office door – there was a large pack of half a dozen or so of the undead slamming their bloody hands on the glass windows. To the left, the back gate was shut, not bolted, but blocked by two of the creatures.

He picked up the Remington, loaded the next shell, and took a deep breath.

_I ain't going out without a fight, I owe you and Lucy more than that. I need to keep your memory alive. I have always believed the dead don't truly die until they stop being remembered. I need to survive to tell the world how beautiful and kind and loving you both were. I need to do this for my girls._

He was sitting there, gathering his courage and trying to figure out just how the hell he was going to get out of this hell hole city when a loud crackling sound interrupted his thoughts.

"Robert? Robert are you there, come in?"

The radio.

He practically leapt over to the radio to reply. He had been sending messages earlier on every frequency he could find with no replies. He had given up on that before too long. Not many people in this day and age have radios, but all the phone lines were out and he had no other way of asking for help.

"This is Robert Kendo, gun shop owner on 5th avenue opposite the RPD, who are you and what's your location? Over."

"Rob, thank God I found you, brother, are you ok?"

_Joe, you son of a bitch you _are_ alive!_

Joseph Kendo was the first person he had tried to contact when shit went down. He knew if there was ever a man who could help in an 'end of the world' situation, it was a trained firearms instructor who was loaded to the back teeth. He hadn't seen Joe in person since he opened up his own shop outside of Racoon.

"Joe, oh my God it is so good to hear your voice, I thought you were… never mind, I need to get out of here ASAP, where are you? Over."

"I'm struggling to hear you, but I am on my way to you now, I have a pilot and I'm coming to you. There's a construction site just south of you, there is enough space there to land the chopper for a quick extraction. Bring any survivors with you."

He held his hand to his mouth to stop a sob from escaping. He took a deep breath and replied.

"No survivors Joe, it's just me".

Silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry bro. Really. But it's time to go"

"I know, I can't stay here, it's not safe. I'll see you soon."

After a deep breath and a wipe of his face on his sleeve, he turned off the radio. He had one more reason to live; his brother would get him out of the city and he could start a new life. He vowed that if he made it out of here alive, every minute that he drew breath, he would dedicate to protecting others from the monstrosities that decimated his family. Whoever or whatever was behind this, he would get his recompense one way or another.

The crash of the shop window finally giving way startled him, but he was not deterred. He had to go now or he would never leave. He had no time to mourn, the night was not over yet…


End file.
